Monday, July 04, 2005
What is Patriotism?
In 1991, The Nation magazine featured various responses from contributors to the question of "What is Patriotism?" Here are a few that resonate with me, almost 15 years later:
Martin Duberman
Professor of history, CUNY; biographer; playwright
Who isn't a patriot? Everybody claims the designation and claims loyalty to the particular set of ideals and institutional arrangements they choose to identify as the essence of Americanism. Those of us who deplore the country's current descent into macho militarism refuse to cede patriotism to those who equate it with George Bush's policies. We hold to a set of values older than Bush and more enduring than a single (misguided) administration. We hold to an insistence that the needs of people come before the display of hardware, however technologically brilliant. We hold that all human life is valuable, and that the view that some nationalities, races, religions, sexual orientations and genders are more valuable than others disgraces the notion of democracy--just as the growing disparities in wealth and privilege in our own country discredit the notion that we are the exemplars of democracy. We hold to an insistence that the rights of conscience take precedence over the profits of business. We hold to a celebration--internationally--of human diversity, and we champion the integrity of indigenous cultures over imperialistic demands for conformity.
Natalie Merchant
Lead singer, 10,000 Maniacs
Patriotism asks that we embrace a unified America, yet no simple vision of America can accommodate its diversity. Few of us are able to call ourselves native; most of us trace our family lineages to nations great distances from these shores. With passing generations we are "assimilated," yet our former cultures are never fully relinquished. The heritage we retain and the characteristics of the one we adopt intermingle; we are defining and becoming American.
The acceptance of a common historical view may be considered the cornerstone of nationalism, yet when I consider the most broadly accepted view of history I realize that my America is quite different.... In my America there is a hope that democracy is not forever destined to be corrupted by wealth influencing power. In my America women will no longer need to fight to possess themselves. In my America the basic rights of all its citizens must be respected, and this respect extends beyond borders. And in my America the burden of world power will be accepted more gracefully, with the people of the United States learning to recognize their brothers and sisters worldwide.
There is one tradition in America I am proud to inherit. It is our first freedom and the truest expression of our Americanism: the ability to dissent without fear. It is our right to utter the words, "I disagree." We must feel at liberty to speak those words to our neighbors, our clergy, our educators, our news media, our lawmakers and, above all, to the one among us we elect President.
The Nation | Article | What is Patriotism? | Various Contributors
Martin Duberman
Professor of history, CUNY; biographer; playwright
Who isn't a patriot? Everybody claims the designation and claims loyalty to the particular set of ideals and institutional arrangements they choose to identify as the essence of Americanism. Those of us who deplore the country's current descent into macho militarism refuse to cede patriotism to those who equate it with George Bush's policies. We hold to a set of values older than Bush and more enduring than a single (misguided) administration. We hold to an insistence that the needs of people come before the display of hardware, however technologically brilliant. We hold that all human life is valuable, and that the view that some nationalities, races, religions, sexual orientations and genders are more valuable than others disgraces the notion of democracy--just as the growing disparities in wealth and privilege in our own country discredit the notion that we are the exemplars of democracy. We hold to an insistence that the rights of conscience take precedence over the profits of business. We hold to a celebration--internationally--of human diversity, and we champion the integrity of indigenous cultures over imperialistic demands for conformity.
Natalie Merchant
Lead singer, 10,000 Maniacs
Patriotism asks that we embrace a unified America, yet no simple vision of America can accommodate its diversity. Few of us are able to call ourselves native; most of us trace our family lineages to nations great distances from these shores. With passing generations we are "assimilated," yet our former cultures are never fully relinquished. The heritage we retain and the characteristics of the one we adopt intermingle; we are defining and becoming American.
The acceptance of a common historical view may be considered the cornerstone of nationalism, yet when I consider the most broadly accepted view of history I realize that my America is quite different.... In my America there is a hope that democracy is not forever destined to be corrupted by wealth influencing power. In my America women will no longer need to fight to possess themselves. In my America the basic rights of all its citizens must be respected, and this respect extends beyond borders. And in my America the burden of world power will be accepted more gracefully, with the people of the United States learning to recognize their brothers and sisters worldwide.
There is one tradition in America I am proud to inherit. It is our first freedom and the truest expression of our Americanism: the ability to dissent without fear. It is our right to utter the words, "I disagree." We must feel at liberty to speak those words to our neighbors, our clergy, our educators, our news media, our lawmakers and, above all, to the one among us we elect President.
The Nation | Article | What is Patriotism? | Various Contributors
YDB July 4th Tribute
From American Poet, Walt Whitman, who was described by Thoreau as "the greatest democrat that ever lived":
Denounce Torture
To The States
To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States
Resist much, obey little,
Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved
No nation, state, city, of this earth, ever
afterward resumes its liberty.
From Congressman John Conyers, Representative-Michigan
Today our nation stands on the verge of a civil liberties calamity.
If you would have told me four years ago, that our nation was not only condoning, but actually engaging in torture and inhuman treatment, both abroad and at home, I wouldn’t have believed you. If you would have told me that our own Justice Department had developed the legal justification for these acts, I would have found you to be not credible. If you would have told me that we had deported a Canadian Citizen to Syria for ten months of torture and imprisonment, I would have said you must be thinking of a repressive dictatorship, such as Iran or Iraq, not the United States.
But that is where we are today. In many respects, the threat to our liberties today is more grave than previous overreactions to foreign threats to our country.
We cannot lose our voice of dissent. As Martin Luther King once told us, “there comes a time when silence is betrayal.” We cannot be bullied and intimidated when people like John Ashcroft charge that those who would criticize this Administration are “aiding the terrorists” and “giving ammunition to America’s enemies,” or when Ari Fleisher says Americans “need to be careful what they say.”
Many of us remember a time when the powers of the FBI and the CIA were horribly abused. Many of us know what it means to face racial profiling and religious persecution. Many of us know that our nation has over-reacted to threats of violence in the past by clamping down on legitimate protests and law abiding immigrants.
We all want to fight terrorism, but we want to fight it the right way, consistent with our constitution, and in a manner that serves as a model for the rest of the world. Torture does not make us safer, it only makes the world more dangerous and degrades our commitment to freedom and liberty.
Denounce Torture
